Star Wars, the Last Jedi, and Russian trolls

Posted by Brian Thomas on October 30, 2018

Look, I understand that there are foreign governments who are trying to influence politics in the United States. Certainly the United States has spent more than a few resources towards ensuring that the people they want in power stay in power (or get into power). But, really, Star Wars? Must we drag such an icon of science fiction through the mud and turn it into a political tool of divisiveness? Apparently, that's just what happened with the Last Jedi.

https://www.wired.com/story/star-wars-russian-trolls-study/

Let's be really clear about what happened. Russian bots were behind a very large portion of the backlash against the Last Jedi. Whether you loved the movie, hated the movie, or fell somewhere in between the social media dialogue was driven to divisiveness through a deliberate campaign that had nothing to do with the movie itself and everything to do with larger geopolitical goals.

I don't have a solution to this, but I hope that it is a cautionary tale to all you Star Wars Nerds out there. Don't assume that we are living in a divided and hate-filled world. We might disagree, but that angry fan you are arguing with on Reddit might be nothing but a Russian troll or sock puppet.